Philip Nel is Assistant Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is the author of JK Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide (2001) - and The Avant-Garde and American Postmodernity (2002). He is currently writing a biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss.
."..very well conceived text. With its focus on Seuss's aesthetics,
politics, and legacy in American cultural life, "Dr. Seuss:
American Icon "should appeal to Americanists and to children's
literature scholars alike."- Gwen Athene Tarbox, "American Studies,
"Vol. 47:2--,
"Like The Cat in the Hat, which can be enjoyed by both parents and
children, lay people and scholars, Nel's book neither forgets nor
talks down to its audience. A fine example of scholarship, Dr.
Seuss: American Icon will be equally at home on the researcher's
bookshelf or the Seuss fan's coffee table. Well-written,
well-argued, and well-conceived, Nel's good-humored book teaches a
lesson of which Dr. Seuss would approve: good scholarship, like
good literature, can be both rich and accessible. It's a lesson
from which we all might learn." Joseph T. Thomas, Jr., Humor:
International Journal of Humor Research, (2004)
."..very well conceivedtext. With its focus on Seuss's aesthetics,
politics, and legacy in Americancultural life, "Dr. Seuss: American
Icon "shouldappeal to Americanists and to children's literature
scholars alike."- GwenAthene Tarbox, "American Studies,
"Vol.47:2--,
"A highly academic treatment of an 'American icon, American
iconoclast', this study contends with the work of Theodore Geisel,
the 'U.S. Laureate of Nonsense', is worth taking seriously and has
a great deal of underlying content." -Library Journal
Because Nel frames his discussion within contemporary criticism,
his analysis is more important to children s literature scholars in
the academy. he sprinkles the scholarly publications of other
throughout his text, thus supporting his conclusions. His text is
richly embedded with the earlier research of children s literature
scholars and ties into cultural aesthetics and children s
literature. environmental ideal, and his markers of political
protest in his images is most valuable. they will have an important
impact on further discussions of Dr. Seuss cartoonist, satirist,
consumer magnate, and instigator of twenty-first-century aesthetics
in American children s culture. The Lion and the Unicorn, 1/05
Dr. Seuss: American Icon provides the reader a memorably excellent
survey of Dr. Seuss many achievements. Library Bookwatch, November
2004
Mr. Nel has done his homework. His endnotes run on for almost 100
pages, boasting the first complete annotated bibliography of works
by and about Dr. Seuss, and he draws on a wealth of esoteric
knowledge [M]ost valuable as a collection of Seussiana. The drawing
and odd bits of trivial matter add unexpected life . The New York
Sun, 3/2/04--Mark Sorkin
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